


Miserere

by Hexworthy



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, CBT, Friends to Lovers, Galo is soft, Gen, Healthy Communication, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Post canon, Recovery, Slow Burn, Therapy, Unrequited Love, angst resolution, descriptive first aid measures, neurodivergent Galo, relearning healthy thought processess, sarcaastic lio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24714346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexworthy/pseuds/Hexworthy
Summary: Miserere : the 51st Psalm, sung or set to music.A prayer for MercyAn expression of lamentation or complaintA medieval dagger , used for the mercy stroke to a wounded foe, misericordFrom the Latin have pity.The world was set alight and Lio and Galo survived, but their actions had consequences. Lio gives himself up and Galo loses himself in his work. Lio then disappears off the face of the Earth, only to turn up battered and beaten three years later. Galo and Lio try to navigate their new lives as the world spins around them and deny themselves as they try to find out who they are now.Fate had other ideas, it seems….
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 22
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! first fic for the fandom and i have at least 8 chapters written so this wont be abandoned! And its a proper slow burn so buckle up! 
> 
> and I will be updating the tags as I upload as to not spoil the fic.
> 
> And thank oyu to all my wonderful betas,Lanzi and Joy, for the story and grammar! Y'all are wonderful and thank you for dealing  
> with my rambling
> 
> EDIT: I also apologise for all my writing - i have been told its stiff and formal and detracts from the story. This is a hobby and I want to tell stories but I study STEM at uni and have been writing scientific and engineering reports for the last 7 years and thus it is harder for me to write prose structurally . I deeply apologise and regret that I dont seem to have gotten better since my first fic 3 years ago. So as uni continues and gets harder, I may not publish any writing due to my priorities being uni. This has always been a hobby and nothing serious, just stories I thought I might like the world to see. Hex xxxx

There were so many piles of ash. The only ones who survived were those who were healthy before they became a living engine. All the kids and the first generation Burnish. All gone. Meis and Gueira had barely survived. From the thousands that lived in the city, only a handful were left. Many missing body parts and a deep sense of loneliness as if part of them had been torn away from them. In a way they had. The Promare were gone. That little flame that spoke to them, that defined them that was there in their darkest moment and afterwards. A part they knew was gone. For thirty years, the Burnish worldwide had been vilified and discriminated and hated. Their little fire inside had defined them and now without it? Lio didn't know. The Promare had been saved. The Earth was safe. But the cost was immense. Maybe too much. 

No matter if Lio had saved the world, the world saw him as a terrorist. A nuisance. An abomination who should be executed. Lio had finally found something to live for, truly live. That moment when he and Galo connected, his Burnish nature becoming one with Galo’s burning soul. A soul that burnt with love and pride and all that could be good with the world. Lio’s seemed only to destroy. Galo’s fire brought new life with it, a cleansing fire that was channeled to be good. While Mad Burnish never killed people, the urge to burn was strong and people got hurt. 

Then Kray Foresight had plotted to kill an entire race of people, and for the first time, Lio wanted to break his own rule. But no flame came to him. No fires came to burn away his anger and hurt and pain. All that was there was the cold emptiness. 

It was time to face the music. His hands were in cuffs and he was being led away. The conscious Burnish were taken in a similar manner. The others were strapped down onto gurneys, even though it was plain to the whole world none of them had a lick of flame left. 

Burnish were criminals, purely because they were born, even if they hadn't done anything wrong or caused any damage. If they kept themselves hidden and their fires contained. In the eyes of everyone else, they were guilty for daring to exist in a world where they . 

The cells were cold. They didn't know anything. In the dimly lit box they had no perception of time, no news of what was happening. Only the small, thin raggedy blankets, a constant hunger and the void of something that was now gone. 

The cold bit into every inch of skin. Lio tried to get everyone to share body heat but it was to little avail. Barely any food was given and it wouldn't be long before illness became an issue. More people were being placed in the cell with little news of the outside. No one could tell how long they had spent there. Until one by one they were dragged out with no explanation. Those did not returned. They could only fear the worst. 

One by one the last of the Burnish were removed until Lio was the only one left. Lio felt like he had been left to freeze for days. First the light was cut and darkness was his constant companion, food he was given was hardly edible and made him sick. The thunks and bangs from the outside kept him awake and afraid in the dark. Alone and exhausted and sick to his stomach, and all he could do was wait. He was sure this qualified as torture. But then again he was Burnish. 

He wasn't worth anything to them. He had helped save the world and his people were dead, he was alone and he would most likely die like that. He only regretted that he hadn't said goodbye to Galo. He became tied to Lio for a while and for a moment Lio had hope. But like always, hope just brought him down further than he ever thought. He was alone and for all he knew the last member of an extinct people. 

Lio couldn't tell anyone exactly when he had been pulled from his cell and shoved into a courtroom, full of cameras and flashes and boiling with hatred. He saw himself in reflections of the glass case around him and the gaunt, grey and almost dead image that was returned barely looked like him. Once, he had been burning with life. He barely felt like he had any life in him now. Words floated to him. 

“Saved…”

“Charact..”

“...Guilty.”

Lio was shoved away from the court room and out the back door. There was a dirty alley and dark skies. No one waiting for him or a place to stay. Just the clothes on his back and the small amount of whit he had. Solitary confinement had done a number on him, and the cold had creeped past his skin and gone deeper than bone. It could have been days or months he did not know. Food and water wasn't given often and the cold bit into him then and it did now. There was nothing explained and he was shoved out the door. 

His first steps were wobbly and the air was causing him to choke. It felt too heavy and full. The cells had been low oxygen and now he felt like he couldn't breathe. There was no air. There was no fire. He couldn't breathe. He would be extinguished, there would be nothing but ash. 

He had been ash.

He wanted to be ash. 

He didn't want to be ash. 

He wanted to live. 

The familiar blue hair, the smell of singed hair and an impression of lips, like a long forgotten memory.

He sucked in a deep breath and steadied himself and his eyes started to clear. There were too many eyes on him. Almost full of hatred. The streets were crowded and he ran. He was exhausted and still he ran. 

“Lio?” Aina. It was Aina. Aina was safe right? Her voice was horrified. And rightly so. He was a criminal. He had killed people. Had gotten his people killed. He had so much blood on his hands. So, he didn't complain when she pulled him into a nearby building, despite every fibre of his being yelling, screaming at him, desperate to not be held. To be free. To burn once more. 

He almost fell into a chair and was handed some water and a slice of bread. Told to eat slowly, to rest. 

At some point he had been moved into one of the bunks in the overnight room. 

“They kept him in solitary confinement for months, Ignis! How can I not be angry?! I was waiting at the front for him! I testified on his behalf. They wouldn't have even given him a chance!! He couldn't attend his own _trial!_ He’s half starved and I’m sure he has pneumonia, any longer and I don't think he would have made it here!” A familiar voice, he knew its anger was wrong. Not the upbeat and cheerful laughter of one Galo Thymos. 

“The city is a bit upheaved -” Ignis tried to start but Galo wasn't having any of it.

“-Upheaved?! Kray got barely a trial. It was private and no one but Burning Rescue and the court knows he was also Burnish! He’s gonna sit in a cushy cell for the rest of his life. He’s being praised for eradicating the Burnish almost entirely. The Burnish who survived were put on trial for existing or not being registered. They had to plead for their lives and the sick fucks enjoyed watching them beg and suffer. 

“They’ll wipe away the Burnish and this atrocity from history. It was _genocide!_ The remaining Burnish are still homeless with little help or resources because they are ‘criminals,” the word was said with such disgust, it shocked Lio to hear Galo talk like that. “And the people rebuilding the city are the people Kray deemed to be worthy on that wretched ship.” No one dared to speak, it was true and Kray not facing true consequences sat heavy on them all.

Lio tried to comprehend what Galo had said in the heavy silence that followed the speech. It had been months. He was probably on the precipice of a cliff, walking the line between recovery and falling down with little hope of life. Why had Galo come for him, and testified? Maybe he felt the same way, that something connected them for the few minutes they piloted the Lio De Galon. Something even good?

“I’d give up this city! I’d do it all again to see him be ok and to smile!”

“You’d give it all up for a terrorist?” It was a strange voice he didn't know. He only assumed someone got involved. “Someone who tried to kill us? To destroy us?”

“Didn't you learn about what happened thirty years ago?!” Came another, and then yelling and the clatter of feet on the ground and grunts of effort. A mob. A mob who wanted his blood spilt on the floor. And Galo would fight them for him. Would abandon is life and job and his stupid burning firefighter soul for _him._

He had never been afraid to fight but without his little living flame he would have to start again. He could worry later, but now he had to get out of there. Lio didn't know how he truly felt towards Galo but he knew him being there would force Galo to make a choice he shouldn't have to make. 

So Lio made it for him. He drank the water that was next to the bunk and ate the cereal bar. They had left the window open, he didn’t have much time judging by the yells of the mob. There was a set of ladders leading down to the back alley which surprisingly wasn’t full of people baying for his blood. Lio counted his blessings as he awkwardly climbed out of the window and ran down the steps, not once looking behind him.  
The darkness of the clouded night greeted him, and welcomed him into its folds, allowing him to slip away into the darkness. The old hideout was safe for now. Leave a message for Meis and Gueira. Get the Burnish out. 

He was the Leader of Mad Burnish. He would protect his people from the hate. He would help keep them warm when there was nothing left to burn, including using his own body to fuel the fire. The only thing that mattered was his people’s safety. There had to be somewhere better than Promepolis. There had been a world. Somewhere, people must have lived in harmony. Somewhere his people might be able to live in peace. 

_Four months ago…_

Galo had turned to talk to Lio but only found the back of the police force taking him away. Galo called out and tried to run but was stopped with a heavy hand. He thrashed and fought and the only thing on his mind was the desperate thoughts of Lio. Then the reality hit. The Burnish were dead. The survivors were being _arrested._ Hadn’t they suffered enough? 

The work room of Burning Rescue had been tense. Only Aina and himself seemed to care, the rest while invested, didn't seem to want to cause a scene. They were helping to rebuild the city, and it was a hard long task. However, they were caught up in the daily trials of Burnish humiliating themselves to defend why they had a right, _an intrinsic right to live._ Arguing on their behalf, trying to carry on in Lio’s stead. Lio’s second in command were some of the last to go on trial, and while they emerged looking worse for wear, they miraculously managed to get away from any repercussions.

Then Foresight had his trial. Only Galo and Aina’s sister were allowed to testify yet Heris was standing trial for even greater charges than Foresight himself despite causing an act of genocide. Foresight must have still held influence. Just thinking about how Foresight got off so easy made Galo angry. He got off easy. He got to live in comfort. And people didn't even get to have a funeral or be remembered. People who, it seemed, weren’t people to begin with, not at least, in the public conscience. 

And Lio still hadn't had his trial.

Four months of hacking and fighting and begging for Lio. That he wasn't a terrorist. He had never killed. That the only person anyone would take seriously was Galo because he has held the Promare and felt it. But that was five minutes and not a lifetime of an inferno that couldn't be released in a safe way. 

It had become Galo’s only goal, get Lio out and get him safe. He had neglected everything and everyone and it was showing but Galo walked free while Lio was locked up. He couldn't stop his fight even if he wanted to. Nothing stuck, only when he knew Lio was safe and with him, did Galo know he would be able to stop.

When Galo saw Lio for his sentencing, Lio’s hair was stringy and limp and matted. The fire that had burned as strong as his own was doused and not even smouldering. Galo was sure he could count ribs and individual bones, and Lio had been on the thin side before this all went down. The worst part was the fact that Lio looked like he wasn't even there. All that was left was a husk of the fire cracker he used to know. He had learnt so much about Lio in the few minutes they had joined. He felt Lio’s personality and saw sides he’d never thought he’d see. There had been something calling his burning soul to the flames of the other.

Galo had almost cried with relief when Lio was found not guilty on the account he had served his time and the character testimonies.

Concern chilled his blood and set his mind on edge when he couldn't find Lio at the entrance to the courts. 

The adrenaline made him quick to anger when the crowd showed up. He jumped to the Burnish’s defence, especially Lio’s.

Then the mob came running. 

It was just as quick for the tears to come when all he found was an empty bed, with folded sheets, and no note. Just an open window and a sense of something missing that seemed like it had always lived there. 

His burning firefighter soul didn't feel like it burned with the same intensity. It was nothing like what he felt around Lio. 

If he couldn't help Lio, then he was gonna help the Burnish in the city. Not let them be forgotten. He wasn't going to let the world forget the blood Promepolis had on its hands. 

Nor would he give up on finding Lio once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Lio had been on the run his entire life. His childhood had been filled with the Freeze Force raids and then on the run as an adult leading displaced people, trying to keep them alive. He had run again when the only person he had ever really connected with, maybe even loved, faced something no one should have to face. He had seen the smear campaigns in the screens on the buildings, the news and the streets. Being back on the run after confinement was nothing new. 

The small amount of provisions Meis and Gueira had left at the safe house would have to do. He had to keep moving. If he stopped he would die. He would be caught and he would die. He would be sent back to the hell pit he’d just been freed from. 

He kept moving. 

The soles of his feet had hardened and the permanent cold became his only companions. Weeks started to pass as he headed into the outskirts of civilisation. But then he noticed something, people had started to join him. Some were in the cells with him. Some had families and they all talked; describing their trials and their previous lives, but the one thing that tied them all together was each of them had a Burnish in their midst. Families with members that had died in the Parnassus or at the hands of the Freeze Force, and living Burnish who had been hidden well enough. 

Lio may have left the city, but the Burnish still needed him. For as long as there were Burnish, he would protect them, even if it killed him. 

This time round, he moved away from the desert, aiming for lands that could be farmed and any ruins they could remake. It was hard work, but they quickly learnt from each other. Those who had allotments helped farm the land and others kept livestock. People started to become a community, sharing in their pain and healing together. 

Kids started to run around again and people were able to live once more. There were people from all walks of life, rich and poor of all professions. More people arrived and soon, they had made their own town. The remnants of people long gone had become a home once more. 

There had been a significant amount that had joined him, and slowly more people came. But for Lio, there was the never ending procession of tasks and duties. He kept to himself and the only contact he kept was with his two friends - who began to smuggle the Burnish out of the city when the community found the hate too much. Meis and Gueira became his only solace and link to the world outside the settlement he had helped raise from the ground up.

It wasn’t as if he was being idle either, Lio helped rebuild the houses. He helped with the tilling of land and harvesting of food. Still even under the heat of the sun, the cold never left him and he never regained any of the weight he lost. He seemed to have an illness that had never left, and he felt weaker than he ever had before. Not because the Promare had left him, but it was like his life was wasting away. Sleep never came, and when it did all he saw were the absolute bullets and the sound of his people screaming as they were torn apart and all that was left was the ice. To make it all worse, he always felt haunted, in his sleep and waking life. 

He had died back then in the Parnassus. 

He had come back and lost everything.

He had been Lio Fotia, leader and savior of the Mad Burnish. 

Now he was just Lio, who lived alone in a shack.

More people came and more people left, the world was still turning and everyone was growing except Lio. Lio, who was still a recluse, dealing with himself so no one else would have to. The world was loud and full of life and Lio’s existence was just tainting it with a darkness the little paradise didn’t deserve or need.

The village had become too much. It had become time to move on once more. He left under the cover of darkness and left into the desert. Back to the ruins of where he had started his rebellion. It seemed like a good enough place as any. No one would look for him there and no one to look for him or to return to. The perma-ice was still there and stood as a testament to his failures. 

He had made a place for the Burnish. When he got lonely, he told himself that. He had fulfilled his duty. There was nothing left to do except atone for the lives lost and the blood he had on his hands. The desert held nothing but the desolation he deserved and more than enough time to live with the deaths he had caused. 

By Promepolis standards, he was a terrorist to those who bought into the propaganda, but he hadn’t killed anyone, the Promare had felt the pain and he cried with them and the dragon didn’t kill anyone. They felt the pain of their siblings and the urge to burn was strong. To go save them. But still he had managed to get his people killed. He had killed the non Burnish folk too, especially if they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and nothing negated that fact that all people were affected by those choices. …

It was a task to stay calm. He couldn’t lose what little control he had left. He couldn’t. What would Galo think? Galo… He sent his silent apologies as the last of his restraint fell away.

Everything around him was engulfed in a flame only Lio could see, despite the reflex of directing fire making itself known. But no spark came. Nothing was being burnt. This was his life now. All alone and as empty as the desert he now resided in. 

The only thing that kept his heart beating was a small something, a memory of warmth in every smile and blue hair and a heart that burnt brighter than a thousand suns.

There were few accommodations in the desert he could salvage, and he lived on the bare minimum. In one respect, it was probably a good thing there were no mirrors to use, as Lio wouldn’t have been able to recognise the person looking back.

Promepolis had been a state. Galo had been a state and he still was. Lio’s disappearance hit him hard. No contact had been made but he had his suspicions. Burnish hate crimes had been on the rise and there seemed to be a steady exodus of the Burnish community. Galo had been pushed to the forefront of the public eye and was the city’s darling. He became the poster child for the new beginnings but nothing had changed. No repeal of the Burnish Control Laws or attitudes. The way the government ran was the same and nothing was done about the rise in hate crimes. 

Burning Rescue had become the ‘Complex and Considerable Fire Department’ for the city. Everyone seemed to have bounced back, going on as if everything was normal. All except for Aina, whose sister had been shafted with full responsibility for the Parnassus and the destruction and only narrowly escaped a death sentence. None of them, especially Aina, could console the sister from the person willing to sacrifice human life to save her.

Then there was Galo himself. His burning firefighter’s soul felt muted and doused, the world felt flat and Galo found himself missing the purple and blue fire that had made such an impact on his life. 

Galo walked the streets always hoping he’d see a flash of green or the leather attire. Went to bed wondering if he would wake up from this nightmare to find Lio in his arms and it indeed was just a bad dream. But his arms were always empty. Lio was never there to kiss his forehead nor were they living in domestic bliss together. The good dreams almost haunted Galo as much as the nightmares, They wouldn't ever have a relationship like that, Galo didn't have feelings towards Lio other than platonic ones. So why did the idea throw such a large wrench into the works?

Earth continued to turn and life went on, so Galo did his job, but it wasn’t the same. He had found someone whose soul had burned as brightly as his and he had never felt so _alive!_

But _he_ was _gone_.

Lio Fotia left big boots to fill. Galo promised he would try.

The Burnish deserved better. He would be better. He had no idea why Lio had left, but he wanted Lio to be proud of him. To have done something, _anything_ to make the lives of the Burnish, and other marginalised people better.

The day after his revelation, he sat down with Ignis and laid out his idea. 

A week later construction had started on some of the Burning Rescue owned land, and within the year, a centre for people in need had been set up. 

A year after that, the anti-Burnish laws had started to be repealed, with Galo at the forefront of the movement. 

All he had heard of Lio was that Meis and Gueira were smuggling Burnish out of the city. No one paid much thought to Lio Fotia in the last three years and with everything in the city any rumours to chase were like looking for ghosts when they didnt exist. Useless and full of false hope. Yet Lio still haunted Galo’s every moment. He wanted to find him and bring him back, to be able to see his soul bonded friend. For Lio was the only one who matched the intensity of his burning soul. 

However, all that changed after an anti-Burnish rally took place, the perma-iced settlement out at the edge of town and the only Burnish community centre were attacked. And from that almost abandoned settlement, they dragged into the city the unconscious and beaten body of one Lio Fotia. 

And Galo knew that hair anywhere.


	3. Chapter 3

Lio knew something hard and solid had hit him but he didn’t have the strength or will to fight back. He was always cold and he had started to welcome the idea of death again. The loneliness from within and the absence of companionship had become a constant ache after three years. Surrounded by as many people as he was, Lio couldn’t really see a way out that didn’t involve him dying.

He vaguely remembered being dragged into the city after barely putting up some a fight.

He didn’t remember being spirited away or hiding in the back doorway of a building.

What Lio does remember is the blue eyes and gentle calloused palms as blackness over took his vision. 

“Lio Fotia!!” that was his name wasn’t it? He didn’t know anymore. That Lio was dead,died the moment he gave himself up to insure as many lives would be spared in return for his own. He didn’t know what happened afterwards except the feeling of gentle warmth on his skin for the first time in too long.

Galo had been putting the rubbish out when he saw the figure walking to their building, he saw green hair, and ran. As he got close, Lio fell and he just caught him and…. And.. there was barely anything to hold. If Galo thought Lio was thin the last time he saw him then he was aghast. There was barely any muscle and all that there was were bones. Barely blond hair that was more dirt and grease and a visible deep exhaustion in each shaky barely there breath. 

Galo’s heart broke. Lio had suffered. 

Somewhere over the last three and a half years, since they had burnt the world, Lio had lost that _something_ that made him fight. 

All Galo wanted to do was make Lio know that Galo was there. That he hadn’t left Lio, caring for and working with the remaining Burnish in the city. That Galo wasn’t gonna stop caring any day soon.

The rubbish was left forgotten in the doorway as he carried Lio towards the recreation area in the station. It was only him and Aina on duty that night and Lucia had stayed over time. Three people were too few and Lio was crashing and crashing hard. He laid Lio down on one of the sofas, brushed some of Lio’s hair out of his face. Everything seemed sunken and corpse like. 

“Aina, can you come to the rec room? Lucia,get Meis and Gueira...” Gods above, it was all Galo could do to remember the medical training from boot camp...

“On it!”

“On my way!” Aina sounded winded already. Galo never asked them for anything over the radios, preferring to come pester them in person.

“Aina, bring the med kit. It’s serious.” Lio was burning up and shivering and each draw of air was sporadic and laboured. There were patches of dried blood and the smell of infection was rank in the air as the miasma hit Galo's nostrils. It was all he could do to not vomit.

The Lio he knew was gone. The Lio they had known had died in the cells. Months of isolation would have done that, with no change in time and some more than questionable things done to him in that time. Once upon a time Galo had hoped they could have been _something_ , but that wasn’t to be, it was too late for that. Lio was too far gone for that.

Aina rushed through the doors with Lucia hot on her heels, shock and disgust of the injuries inflicted mixed with concern and worry on their faces. The adrenaline rushing through all of them hadn’t faded as the two tried to stabilise his breathing and clean up the wounds. Some were fresher than others but none were old enough to start scarring over. Galo was begging Lio to stay with him, this time there was no magic Promare kiss of life. Just two pairs of hands and the most basic of things.

The last thing he expected was Meis on the phone, demanding why they had been called. Until they heard the word Lio.

"Where. Is. He?" spat Meis.

"Rec room. Bring a doctor who knows Burnish physiology. It’s bad. Worse than before. Meis... just get here." Galo then put the phone on speaker so he could help but then... Then Lio’s pulse dropped and the arrhythmia started. Faint breaths became ragged and hard. Convulsions shook the tiny frame and Galo tried to desperately cling on to Lio's life.

Galo had just found him. He had just got back. He couldn’t lose him. Then there was no heartbeat.

Galo took Lio's body off of the sofa and laid him on the floor and started compressions while Aina used the mouthpiece to inflate Lio's lungs. He wasn’t getting away from them a third time. The last time he had fought for Lio's life, CPR hadn’t been used and this felt more real than Lio turning to ash.

The adrenaline in his veins and his desperation were the only things keeping him going. He had no idea how long he had been doing this, only that he needed to do thirty compressions to every two breaths.

Galo got into the rhythm needed and while the adrenaline was giving him that extra boost, his body was relying on its muscle memory from his training. Nothing else existed in the world apart from Lio, himself and the rhythm he had to keep up. He refused to allow Lio to leave him again, and if the damned bastard survived, wherever Lio went, Galo would follow. He felt a connection, one that was stuttering out.

He faintly acknowledged the doors opening and an EMT coming to the body. There was a beeping and a voice as he was pushed back.

Lio's body became taut and then relaxed. Then again. And again.

The emt then started to do chest compressions then Lio became taut with electricity and his heart started to beat once more. It took too long to get him stabilised. Somehow Meis and Gueira had brought along former Burnish members. But not just one or two. Anyone who could help their leader live was brought along. More came to the station bringing supplies that Lio might need. The Burnish in the city knew what Lio had done for them, what he had sacrificed. 

Now it was their turn to help him.

The doctors that were there had sent messages to Burnish owned pharmacies and within the next few hours all the medications needed came in, and more. Flowers and food packs. Tokens and well wishes. Small things that could be passed on. Anything they could give. The gifts came in for the Leader they had believed in and Aina took them to the side for later.

But one gift stood out, a child missing an arm and scarred when the Parnassus stole from her. She gave her teddy bear to Lio, leaving it near his shoulder.

Adrenaline spent, Galo had quickly nodded off to sleep on the cold tile floor beside Lio's bed in the small medical ward they had, grasping tightly onto Lio's hand. It was dangerous to send him to the general hospital, there was still so much hate towards the Leader of Mad Burnish and they weren't going to risk losing Lio to someone who would happily kill him and call it ‘doing the right thing.’

The last thing he remembered of that night was Aina telling him Lio would live. He gave her a weak smile and gently squeezed the hand he was all but clutching on for dear life.

The rec room became flooded with light and low level chatter filled his ears as Galo came to. His team with the addition of Meis and Gueira were there.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty has finally woken," Lucia said as she passed him a coffee that was probably laced with extra shots, knowing Lucia. One arm was numb and he had a crick in his neck and his butt hurt like hell from sleeping on the floor. He wondered how he got on the floor until he removed his hand from the position it had been in, brushing skin that set his heart aflame.

"Lio," he breathed and turned to find him clean and bandaged. He was cooler than the night before and he looked serene. An IV was in his arm and a group of the regular Burnish from the community centre were sleeping in the corner.

"He made it thanks to you." Gueira slid down next to him, cradling a mug of tea. It’s warmth radiating from the mug, it was the closest Gueira got to the Promare’s warmth safely. "The Burnish who chose to remain are grateful. We were smuggling Burnish out to him in the early days. He set up a settlement you know? Then just dropped off of the face of the planet. All we know was that he became reclusive. He never could just sit still but always had pushed himself.

"I just hope this time he knows we are here. He can rely on us. So used to standing on his own two feet he didn’t think that he could have the same support he gave everyone else. That he is worthy of love."

That had Galo surprised, "Worthy of love?"

"When we first met he hadn't anyone. He was thirteen at the time, we were only seventeen. that was ten years ago now. He never opened up about his past, only looking out for everyone but himself. it was common to find him cat napping over piles of work." Gueira laughed at a memory, a soft smile gracing his face. "I just want him to be alright. He's my brother ya know?"

"I do, and I'm glad he had you two. You are good for him." Galo said absently, everything he didn’t know about Lio hitting him and the knowledge wasn’t pulling its punches. 

Silence fell over the two of them, neither of them wanting to point out the elephants in the room. Especially that Lio was still so young, twenty three and already subject to horrors no one should have to face. 

Looking at his frail frame, dwarfed by the bed, it really hit home that Lio was three years younger than him. At twenty three, Galo had just saved the world and was riding on the high of piloting a mecha with Lio, while Lio had almost… almost died. 

Stupid Galo, always slow and needing everything spelt out and demanding too much. No one ever liked him enough to stay. Not Kray, not his parents, so why would Lio? Galo’s trial of thought was broken when a nurse came over to check on Lio, and Galo took it as a sign to get up and crack every bone he could. Make it seem like nothing was going on.

Getting up took more effort than he had thought possible and the feeling of stretching his spine felt good. He even chuckled at the winces of Remi and Varys when his bones popped, much to their displeasure.

Galo knew he needed a plan. Lio had nowhere to live, and he knew that Meis and Gueira couldn’t spare the space. There was always the original plan though, from way back when, where Lio would stay with him and help him get back on his feet. 

Lio was unnaturally still in the makeshift bed and it didn't seem to fit with the Lio he remembered, who naturally emanated a contained ferocity. Foresight hated himself and let it fester and burn with little oxygen, becoming poisonous and vindictive in its warpath. It consumed him and burned anything good that had once been in him. 

Lio harnessed his fire, he kept it at an ember, loved it and nurtured it and gained a strength that Foresight never had. It burned brighter and it sang in Galo’s own blood. It called to him. Lio called to him. 

“Hey, Loverboy!” Lucia yelled at him from the small kitchenette, “Come get breakfast, he’s not gonna leave again or be alone. We won't let him leave without a means to keep in contact. Also, you need to eat,” and slid a plate of food his way.

Galo made his way over to the table and sat, the others mercifully gave him space. He was tired and cramped and in all honesty, the night had taken a toll on him. To add to it, the last person he expected sat next to him. 

“Nights like this are always hard. Worse when they don’t make it,” Ignis’ calm, even and soft tone fell on his ears. “Lio made it and he’s alive. Remind yourself of it. You were there and he’s alive. We have some good friends in the city now and they know he’s gonna recover.”

Galo felt himself tense, then Ignis’ hand came to rest on his shoulder. 

“Breathe. Deep in and hold, then out slowly. He’s fine.”

“How do you get over this?” Murmured Galo, his arms around himself as he stared into the porridge that had been set in front of him. 

“Therapy. A lot of it, and even then you don’t get over it, you just learn to acknowledge it and move onwards.” They didn’t need to say anything after that, the understanding of lost love, life and how it affected them. Galo ate a bit at a time as the rest of the station came to life around them. 

“He’s home, he’s safe. We won’t let anything or anyone take him from us, not again. He will always have a home in this station, even if he was once the cause for most of our outings.” Ignis smiled and pulled Galo into a hug. Galo went stiff as he didnt know what to do. Galo went stiff in surprise. Ignis wasn't a person for hugs. It made this hug mean all the more coming from ignis, and after a short hesitation, Galo hugged back, fiercely. 

“Now I’m gonna give you the number of the place I go to for therapy. Use it if you want to, no pressure, but the opportunity is there. You deserve to live and be happy. On your own terms and not to prove something. You’ve done that a million times over, Rookie.”

“I’m not a rookie anymore! I’ve been in Burning Rescue for years now! If anything. the Troublesome Twosome over there,” gesturing to Meis and Gueira who glanced up innocently, “are the rookies! They officially joined last year! ” Galo was exasperated, but it was nicer than the uncertainty and fear of the future. 

“You are still Rookie, Rookie.” Ignis got up and went to talk to one of the medical volunteers as Galo was left to stew, it wasn’t fair that was his nickname! He had done so many cool things! And yet that was _still_ his nickname. Galo wasn’t sulking or brooding. Not at all. 

...Maybe a bit. 

There was a flurry of activity behind Galo as bandages were changed and Lio’s injuries and vitals were taken. Soon enough he was able to pull up a chair and wait by Lio. He didn’t want Lio to be alone, rationalising it to himself it was in case of anything going wrong. 

Not of anything else. At all. Nothing that requited anyway, it didn’t even feel like his friendship was returned but Lio still came to the station. He had came back to Galo, even if it wasn’t entirely planned, and Galo wasn’t going to waste this second chance.

Even if he was only the stupid idiot who could only fuck things up. Even if he was the slow one who needed things spelt out. He didn’t try to, it just happened. He was always too much, but he wanted to try to be what Lio needed.

What everyone else needed. He would give everything of himself if he had to. 

When the sun reached its peak in the sky, there were mercifully no fires to attend to, although he wasn’t sure if Ignis would even let him go, given his current state. The calm allowed Galo to look at Lio a bit more closely. Beyond the pallid skin and almost permanently tense position. The fact that Lio had earrings, one small black triangle and a new one on the same ear, a blue sapphire. 

Where callouses had developed on his hands and the new scars that had appeared on his skin. His blond hair that would sometimes look mint green. Had it been from a rebellious phase where he had dyed it a brighter green and this was the washed out result? Or how even when deathly ill, Lio still inspired something deep in Galo, as strong as the day they first came face to face. 

He didn’t know what that feeling was. 

It was like an instant friendship once Galo let go of his prejudices but it was stronger, something pulling him to Lio. Though Galo hadn’t ever been in love, and the closest thing he had to love of any form in his memory was the fake love that Foresight had shown him, so it couldn’t be that. 

He knew it wasn’t physical attraction either, he never showed interest in men, wasn’t he just waiting for the right girl? Even if none had caught his attention yet, one would soon. That did nothing to explain why Lio’s lips felt so right against his all those years ago. It was just the soul bond, Galo justified to himself. 

He just wanted to be best friends, right? Friends that liked each other and were close? Yeah. That’s what he wanted, Lio back in his life, as a friend. In any capacity that Lio would allow. He just hoped he wouldn’t fuck it up like he had with everything else in his life. With Foresight, his misguided beliefs that the Burnish were inherently bad, allowing himself to believe he was worthy of being something to someone. He wanted this to be the one hope wouldn’t be futile.

When Lio’s hand twitched and a moan escaped his lips, Galo was there at an instant, the ice cream tub left abandoned on the side of the kitchenette. Galo reached for Lio’s hand and moved hair out of his face. Hushing Lio as he came to, knowing that he was probably in so much pain. Pain Galo wished he could take away. What Galo wouldn’t give to see Lio’s small smile when he thought no one was looking. When Lio was proud of himself, truly proud and not just putting on a show.


	4. Chapter 4

A sharp pain cut through the haze between sleep and restfulness, and as he moved to make the pain ease, it felt like he had been stabbed in the back again. There was something soft, something good. Touch that didn’t want to kill him, he wanted more. He felt something in his hand and it was heavy. He didn’t have much awareness outside of his own body. Everything was fuzzy and hard to see. He thought he saw something blue but then the darkness came back. The soft touch was still there but the pain still lingered. Every part of his body ached as pain ran through him and it was all he could do not to move and aggravate it more. 

The more he was able to open his eyes, the more he came to understand the world. The ceiling looked familiar even though he couldn’t place it. He could feel a dip in the mattress, but he could place why there was one, considering he only had the ground and rock to sleep on. There was a familiar warmth he hadn't felt in too long, and he couldn’t figure out what it was or why it seemed as important as it did. 

But it was there. It was grounding him. 

Familiar eyes looked into his and the warmth from Galo’s body heat brought back something he thought he had lost too long ago to reclaim.  
But there was something wrong about the image before him. 

Galo was closed in on himself, barely extruding the energy Lio remembered fondly on those dark cold nights. None of the cheeriness or brashness could be found. He wondered how no one else had noticed it? Maybe it was Galo after a long night. 

Wait. 

He was back in Promepolis?

He tried to think back to what had happened, but it was all a haze of pain and desperation mixed in with flashbacks of the cells. Of how he was treated _then_ , how he couldn’t, wouldn’t go back. How he’d rather be dead than in the cells, to be used as living fuel for a mad man. 

Was he the mad man now?

No fire and no bite. Everything he was had gone. He wanted the best for the Burnish but they had their settlement and were safe. What was there left for him? An empty title and a cell.  
Which begged the question how did he end up in Station 3?

But thinking hurt as a rush of pain enveloped his body and mind and only intensified as he curled into himself. He just wanted all the pain to stop.

A beeping was going off and it made the pain worse, every breath felt like a struggle and he felt something enter his veins and the last thing he could consciously remember was a hand running through his hair and the smallest hint of a soft sad smile. 

It was a few days of hazy memories and pain before Lio regained anything like solid consciousness. The pain was there but it was more muted and bearable. He could hear bickering and he felt softness. Softness? That was wrong. He slept on hard surfaces and no. that was wrong too.

Being ambushed and beaten and abducted. 

Escaping and taking the only path he could remember. 

The station and the darkness.

_Galo._

Lio wheezed a bit as he tried to sit up, but was gently pushed back down by familiar hands and crooked smiles. 

“Welcome back, Boss,”

“I’m not your boss.” Lio barely had the energy to tease but with Meis and Gueira, it was natural even if he felt like he had run headlong into a brick wall. 

“You’ll always be our Boss, we’re like an itch, we never go away.” Lio was a tad too out of it to know who was speaking but that didn't stop the tears. The last time he had seen them was in the freeze cell as they were dragged away from him and he was left to rot. Even though everything was screaming at him not to move, he raised out his left hand to them, and poked Meis’ knee. 

“Then get back to work!” Lio joked, and it felt good to smile again. His face wasn't used to it but it felt good. “You’ve been slacking, there’s not enough stuff on fire. You know you both can’t cook to save your lives,”

“Slacking? In this day and age?” Meis retorted. “What will our esteemed Captain say about that?”

“I don’t know Meis, he does like having us around with our Burnish knowledge of how fires are started. We also like to keep them on their feet and keep them young!” Gueira added, trying to keep a straight face at Lio’s trademark Look Of Disapproval. 

There was that camaraderie between them, from the long nights on the run and years of living together. A friendship time had not broken. He remembered when he first met them, scared and alone and unable to hide his flames as he burnt everything and anyone that came too close. Crying and afraid as the flames engulfed everything in his grief for the loss of what he once had. A mother who tried to hide him and care for him. Someone who loved him so fiercely that she died for him... 

Then two boys, only just older than him walked through the flames and embroiled him as his world burnt around them. Meis calmed him down and Gueira made him laugh once more, they stayed with him and allowed him to run away with them. Meis and Gueira were his brothers and he regretted leaving them three years ago.

A surge of love embraced him and the warmth of their presence brought him some sense of normalcy. When they got those rare moments where they could act their age and goof around, playing in the cooling desert under the stars. When they mucked about with little fear, freefalling from the top of a cliff till they let their flames loose to propel them through the night sky. When they were the strongest force and on top of the world and had everything on a silver platter before him. 

It made him think of what his life would have been like if the Promare never resonated with him upon his birth? When he and his mum never had to keep hidden and running, when Vulcan didn’t kill his mother with an Absolute Bullet. He missed her dearly but he had gained a new family, a family who were still there despite his bullshit. Seemingly out of nowhere, Lio pulled Meis and Gueira into a tight hug, tears running down his cheeks. The tears fell partly from the pain of moving so suddenly but also for everything he had lost and everything he had gained in return.

“Thank you, for never giving up on me. For taking me in and putting up with my bullshit,” His voice felt weak from years of silence but he made sure he was heard. 

“You may be our boss but you're our brother first, we’re family and this family never gives up on each other,” Gueira replied softly as they gingerly hugged, cautious to not aggravate Lio’s injuries. 

For the first time since he had learnt to run and never look back, he felt like something good might finally stick. That maybe, just maybe, he could find somewhere to call home.

Something deep inside of himself seemed to click into place, and some of the fears from years of running were washed away by the comfort of being around his friends. It was time to move on.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ugh! Youre doing it all wrong, don’t be so stupid, STUPID!_ I tried! I don’t know what I did but I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you please! Galo begged as his mind dredged up everything anyone had said to him. Everything he internalised and tried to forget, to not let it affect him.

_Always somewhere else with your head in the clouds, how can you be so blind and stupid?!_ I thought we were friends! Colleagues! I.. I… I try but why am I never enough, he  
pleaded to the memories as they became a tidal wave in his mind, crashing through every barrier he had put up.

_If you werent so stupid Lio wouldnt have left. Lio would have stayed if you were better. You dont deserve Lio and Lio deserves better than some stupid, usless idiot who fumbles and breaks everything. Who in their right mind would want you?_ Please. I tried! I wanted to be better, to do better! Why can’t I do anything right! And Galo had, he tried so hard he didn’t know who he was without trying to be someone he clearly wasn’t.

_If you werent so stupid you might have done it, earned my respect and even my love. You have disappointed me Galo. What would your parents think? After all I have done for you?_

__Kray, he never hid it. I was so stupid. _So so stupid!_ It’s all I’ll ever be… How could he have been so dense to not see the truth? If everyone else saw it then why didn’t he? Maybe the voices of everyone in his life were right… Maybe he was just one stupid dense fuck up and it was all he would ever be.

The thoughts never stopped. They were everywhere he looked. The station. The streets, even his safe places which once upon a time, weren’t tainted by his failures. Revisiting these failures wasn’t fun nor was voicing them to someone he barely knew. He really was stupid, and it only was amplified by the sense of unease and wrongness under his skin. Something he had to scratch and break out and hate and loathe. The wrongness never truly left and it was exhausting to live with. 

It didn’t help that therapy always left Galo tired and exhausted, and he was no closer to a breakthrough to boot. Even though his therapist was kind and didn’t judge him, or try to force him into something he couldn't handle. Most of all, Lukas did not judge him when he couldn’t explain the wrongness and in a way that didn’t make sense. Lukas tried to understand how and why Galo wanted to tear away his skin and no amount of cracking his knuckles would ease it away.

“So, what makes you stupid?” Lukas asked him, his voice gentle and not once admonishing him in any way. The noise broke him away from his internal shit. 

“Why wouldn’t I be? I dont think, no one understands what I mean an... an...and everyone wouldn’t have left me if I wasn’t stupid. If they were wrong about me, they would have stayed. I would have been someone worthy of love.” He said it. Galo had finally said what had really hurt him. He felt vulnerable and he was sure that even the slightest thing would cause him to break.

“So what makes you different from everyone else? They all have times where they mess up. You’re allowed to make mistakes and be wrong. You’re allowed to forgive yourself. If you need permission, I’m giving it to you,”

“But I don’t deserve it!” he felt his voice rising and the small wobble of his bottom eyelids. 

“Why wouldn’t you? I see a man who has done so many wonderful things at the expense of himself. Who has tried to make everyone happy but forgot about himself. Not a stupid man, just someone who cares very deeply for those around him. Whether they deserve it or not. I do not believe for one second you are stupid, that you are smart! You are creative and you saved the world because of it!” How could Lukas be so calm when everything about him was wrong?

Galo reached for the tissues that were on the side. He didn’t know how to even accept these words. They weren’t based on the results of his efforts or an idea of him. Lukas was sincere couldn’t he see Galo as the fuck up that he was?

“Your kindness, empathy and creative thinking saved the world. The knowledge of so many things people have mostly forgotten about, the way you care about people. These attributes saved the world. You have a burning soul remember? It’s not just burning for others, it burns for you too.”

Galo didn’t know where to begin. 

Lukas must have seen something in his face, either the pain or the way he was compulsively cracking his knuckles or the red marks his nails left on his skin.

“Start by saying thank you, even if you don't believe it. Listen to the words and thank them. You don’t have to believe them but it’s the start to believing in their words, their actions. Let them help build you back up. And when people call you stupid? You’re not. Remember what I have said and for homework, I want you to think of one positive thing about yourself. We can start here today so you know what to to look for,”

“I’m not stupid, I am kind and my empathy for people helped save the world.” Galo said, not quite believing it but, it was a start. 

“There we go. Just something nice about yourself and next week I want to check for some things. Not bad things but what I’ve seen over the last few weeks suggests something I want to investigate. It’s nothing bad I promise, just something that might help us and allow you to understand yourself better.” Lukas said gently.

The chill that ran through his blood and pulled him taut faded as quickly as it came. It was nothing bad. Lukas wouldn’t lie to him. Wouldn’t treat him like he was stupid. Galo nodded and paid for his session. 

When Galo had first started them he was scared he’d have to have contact with Lukas physically, he didn’t want to shake hands nor did he really know where to look. He didn’t really want to touch anyone but his friends. But Lukas never pushed him and he hadn’t lied to him, being open and for the first time in too long, Galo knew what was happening and felt like he could cope with it. 

The weekly sessions became part of his schedule as if it had been there all along. Maybe, Ignis was right. Maybe everything would get easier to handle in time. 

That maybe _Galo_ would get easier to handle in time. 

Station House 3 had become a sort of family, but sometimes his hind brain had told him they barely tolerated him. Though, now? Meis and Gueira joked with him and taught him about the Burnish and their stories, then stories of Lio when his curiosity won out. 

Lucia and Aina dragging him to do stuff and including him. Remi and Varys’ encouragement and suggestion and training together, and Ignis being someone who he could look up to and not in a pseudo-father way. Ignis looked out for them all and gave the ex Mad Burnish a chance when no one else would. 

So when Galo drove up to the station garage on his bike? He felt like coming home, especially now Lio was back with them. Maybe not the best of situations but they would have time to build back to where they were before Lio was taken from them. 

Lio was still bed bound, with broken ribs and severe pneumonia among other things, and told to rest. But getting Lio to rest was like trying to make Lucia hate technology or Ignis join the now-disbanded Freeze Force. 

Through it all, however, Lio was healing. A Lio was returning. He was eating again and the gauntness was leaving Lio’s deautres and his bones weren’t as prominent as before. He had been floating in and out of consciousness for a week after crashing into the station and three weeks later, he was mostly awake for the day. 

Galo seemed to be the only person Lio trusted outside of Meis and Gueira, and they all took turns to take a night duty to stay with him in case of an emergency. Lio was quiet around everyone but he ate and he slept. After all he had gone through, no one was surprised nor fazed. 

It was once such time when they had to breach the subject of what would happen next....

“Where is he gonna go? We can’t let him go out onto the street. He’ll die...”

“A shelter won’t accept him, Burnish friendly or not. Lio is still a controversial issue for people, even three years on. Not much has changed for his image, especially after the smear campaign Foresights team and the media ran. He deserves to be safe.” Aina said as they cradled their mugs in the short hours of the morning.

“He was found to be not guilty on most charges only because we petitioned that he had served enough time, and he was instrumental in saving the world and then was tortured in solitary! We found that evidence! He was guilty of arson but not murder, and then the arson was controlled! Of course he isn’t gonna be safe, people want his blood.” Galo hated the words he was saying but that didn’t stop them from being true. Meis and Gueira had to serve community service and Station 3 had fought tooth and nail for them. They were family then as they were now.

“We can’t leave him, Boss would end up on the streets or run away again. He wouldn’t take things that are even to him when it could have been given to us,” Meis sighed, and Galo knew who the _us_ were. Every Burnish Lio could help, having those less fortunate be in a better place. He admired that in Lio, that he still remembered who mattered. Lio had inadvertently shown him the smallest amount of tolerance to see into Lio’s life. Lio had saved his own life in one way. Dying alone in a cell was no way for a person so loved to go. 

“Where would he go? The landlord barely stands Gueira and I, and Aina has a tiny stu-”

“He can come with me. I have the basic training for when he’s stable and it’s big enough for two and a few extra medical supplies. I’d rather be able to keep an eye on him and try to get him help. He’s been through enough,” Galo offered.

Silence fell, none of them knew the full extent of what Lio went through or what was going through. The night was quiet and there were no calls. Just the steady breathing from Lio as Galo sat beside him, his head to the wall and lying a hand within reach of Lio’s, so close yet so achingly far. 

Physical therapy hurt and Lio did not like it. Not one little bit. He missed his promare and their life giving warmth. Like any fire they could heal or destroy and he really, _really_ missed their healing abilities. He had become so emaciated, muscle had atrophied and now he could see clearly how much he lost himself when he was alone, and it scared him a little too.

Even when he was around people, he was alone. No one could understand the loss of the Burnish themselves and how he hadn’t done enough, coupled with the Promare leaving? Then in that time alone in the ice cells something had broken but…

Human kindness had started to repair the part of Lio that was broken. Being surrounded by people who cared and loved him. Especially Meis in Gueira who were never too far away to joke around and make him feel more human. But there was a lot inside of him to address. The issues from the torture and the violence in his life. Not to mention Vulcan’s face when he had fired that bullet.

No more running, Lio decided, not for now. He owed that much to Meis and Gueira at least. They had stuck by him and waited through his angsty teen years and taking control of Mad Burnish and then through the last few years. Lio would stay, even if it was until he was mostly better, he would stay. Maybe till he could get back on his feet, So he wouldn’t burden his friends for too long. 

When the time came to find somewhere to live now that he was moving more each day, Lio started to try to find the best shelter. He was good at being silent, and the harsh glow of the screen was hidden behind walls and doors. No one should have found him. Except he underestimated his look out. 

Damn Vinny and his stealthiness. 

Lucia found him as he tried to find Burnish friendly shelters, wrapped up in a duvet and an oversized jumper he had found on the floor. Moving too much caused him some pain but it was dulled and as long as he gently moved himself he could manage it. 

The first thing he noticed was hair falling over his and an overly bright “Whatcha doing?”

Lio groaned. Busted. 

“Looking for places. I can’t stay here in the station house, I’m taking up room and I need to get out of your hair,” Lio said, willing to keep all emotion out of his voice. If he wasn’t careful, the sadness he felt at leaving again would come through, no one had to deal with that. Especially as deep down in a long forgotten part, he didn’t want to leave. For the last month, Lio Fotia, had remembered what a family should have felt like. Kind. Caring. 

_Gone._

Lio wouldn’t endanger the station house or its residents. 

“The sooner the better…” Lucia heard the tone of the words Lio muttered under his breath, she heard the bitterness but couldn’t find anything directed at her. So it meant? Oh...

“Lio..” Lucia started, but she didn’t know where to proceed after that. She sat down at his feet and waited to find the words. “You know we like you right? You’re our friend. And friends will do stuff for each other, especially if one of them has gone through hell and back?”

Lio nodded as he listened but was still looking at websites and potential shelters, including those that offered survival packs. If he was gonna live, he needed provisions. If he could get a job maybe he could afford the most basic set but who would hire him?

“Lio are you listening?!” Lucia hissed. “Of course you’re not. Right. I would never do this but I’m unplugging it.” And proceeded to do just that. The screen went black and the darkness overwhelmed him a bit. He wasn’t in the ice cell. He was in Station 3. He wasn’t alone. It was Lucia. _He wasn’t alone. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t_

Hands clasped his as they reached his head, prying them away from pulling out hair that was only just starting to grow properly again. His cheeks felt wet and he listened to the voice. A voice usually bouncing off the walls but calming. Getting him to breathe. Breathing, yeah he can do that. He focused on his heartbeat and how the promare used to help him when everything got too much. 

The Promare that had lived within him didn’t just say _burn._ They comforted him and told him he wouldn’t be alone. They were the grounding he needed when everything went to shit. They were there when he didn't believe in himself. They gave him confidence. They may not have spoken with words but they projected their emotions and wants and desires. 

They trusted him and he trusted them with his life, they were a part of him that never left. Until they did.

All that there was now was the silence where there had once been life. He missed them, Lio had loved them and they loved him back. But they were gone now and all he had to ground himself was Lucia’s voice through the hazy panic.

“You know Vinny here is a service animal? The whole mischief is,” Lucia started. It was well known Lucia had a fondness for rats. “Vinny here is my heart rat but has to be separate due to health issues. Poor thing gets anxiety as he’s meant to be with his brothers but is unable to so he goes where I do. I think I’ve helped him as much as he helped me. I love my other boys but Vinny has my heart.” Vinny popped his head out of the pouch in her hoodie, bruxing softly in contentment as Lucia scratched behind his ears.

Lio had met many rats but this was something else. Vinny’s fur was soft and his paws silky. His bruxing increased when Lio ran his hands over Vinny’s back. The rat even started to boggle, which after an hour passing and a small ‘what the hell Lucia, your rat is broken, its eyes are moving weirdly’, Vinny had helped relax Lio. No longer in a state of panic he felt exhausted but too awake from the adrenaline. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, careful not to disturb the peace that had fallen and the peace in himself for the time being. 

“Any time, Vinny here helps me when I start to panic or get caught in my head. CBT helps as well. Course there are bad days but they’re better than what they were. Especially back then, I never want to go back to that place...”

Lio could tell there was a history but he didnt pry. He didn’t know where Lucia was going with this either, it scared him. Lio didn’t _do_ scared. But Lio also didn’t _do_ relying on others. Lio was scared. Plain and simple. And realising it scared him even more. 

“Lio? You know you don’t have to stay in a shelter, or be kicked to the curb? That none of us would ever do that to you?” Lio shook his head. He actually didn't. Meis and Gueira were the only ones he could think of who would offer him a bit of floor to sleep on but the rest were unknowns. 

“Well, we wouldn’t. You became part of the family the minute Galo adopted you, like a puppy adopting its forever family or when a cat decides you’re it for them and refuses to move out. Galo wants to talk to you about moving in, but don’t take away our choice to help you. We do this because we want to and we choose too.

“We knew what we were getting into the moment we met you in the Galo de Lion, when we stood by you. Please, when Galo talks to you please let us help you.” Lio listened to the words, and though he knew he would be fighting with himself, these people had risked enough and not turned away from him. Maybe, there was some worth in not refuting their offers and allowing people to help him.

Maybe, it was time he allowed himself to have help. There was no one left to save. No one except himself. 

He was Lio Fotia, Leader of Mad Burnish and he has saved the Burnish and the Earth. Now it was time to save himself from the dark place he had found himself in. But also realise accepting a hand to help him wasn’t aynthing to be ashamed of. Accepting help didn’t make him weak, and he couldn’t deny the part of him that was scared. The little Lio who had his childhood ripped away and had no time to be a teen who only learnt how to run from emotions. 

Emotions got people killed, his mother had drilled that into him well enough. Never make attachments, never let yourself for attachments that would only break. Lio never knew how to get close, what it felt like to be loved, what friendship beyond survival meant. 

He thought he finally got what Meis and Guiera meant those long years ago when he said they had a bond deeper than friendship. Not quite romantic but it was there twining them together. 

“Thank you, thank you,” Lio repeated over and over. Lucia then made them hot chocolate and started to tell stories. When the sun rose, the pair were still up, sharing little bits of stories from the better parts of their lives. 

However, when Galo entered the room shirtless, Lio took in the sight. Kind, wonderful, trusting Galo. There were no words to describe how handsome and beautiful he looked with the warm sun glancing off his skin and the glow it gave him as Galo tried to find his morning tea.

“You look a bit thirsty there,” Lucia said as if nothing was wrong, to make matters worse she was smirking. _Smirking._ Lio tried to kick her under the table but failed as Galo, the sweet and good hearted man he was, offered to pass him some water if he was thirsty. 

“No I’m not! I was up all night!! Lucia you were there!!!” Lio spluttered, going red because- because- he didn’t like Galo that way! They were friends! They had soul bonded or whatever! Just because Lio was gay didnt mean he liked all men! 

Somehow Galo looked wounded and concerned, “You were up all night?”

“Ooops…” Lio muttered under his breath. “No?”

The daggers from Galo were enough to change his mind, especially when Galo wanted to try to help someone he cared about. 

“Yes. But I’m fine for now! I’ve had coffee,” Lio admitted and Galo just sighed as he made his tea and sat down. 

“Lio, can we talk?”


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing sparked more dread than those three words. They meant abandonment, the start of loneliness. They were the words he said to his mother when he felt the urge to burn when he was a kid, and it reminded him of how she was gone. He didn't want to be lonely again. The time in that cell had almost driven him mad. The chill that went through his blood had him paralysed in fear. 

Struggling to not show those thoughts on his face, Lio just nodded and prepared himself for the worst. Despite what Lucia said, his trust issues had not abated it seemed. _Nowhere is safe, no one is safe._ Earnest blue eyes soothed him as Galo saw his panic. Galo cared. Even after all this time, Galo cared.

“Would you like to stay with me? 

Lio’s first thought was a hard no, to not be a burden, that he was ok. Lucia’s words made their way to the forefront of his mind, to not allow them to make the choice to help. That they knew what bed they were making and lying in it already with the pillows fluffed. _I’ll be safer with Galo,_ Lio’s rational side thought, _and something soft at long last!_

“Yeah, I will,”

“I won’t push for you to stay but I - wait. What? You said yes?!”

“Yeah, did the amount of explosions you’ve been in impair your hearing?”

“No, I thought you’d put up more of a fight… I even had a thirty two point presentation of ‘Why Lio Should Stay With Galo and Why It Isnt A Dumb Idea!!’ I even had a clicker!” Bemoaned Galo, and Lio had wondered why he deprived himself of this.

It felt like what he thought a home might have been like. Warm and friendly. Like he was worth something, that someone beyond his two brothers in arms had missed him. The image of Galo gesturing wildly and smiling that smile when he got excited about something like his Matoi’s. It was amusing and he could already imagine what was in the slide. 

And for the first time, Lio started to laugh. Which turned into wild cackling and giggling. 

And Galo was shook. 

Lio was laughing, truly laughing and it was the first time he had heard it. Lio’s body was shaking while he tried to catch his breath but burst into more fits of giggles. 

“Want to share the joke?” Galo asked, as much as he loved hearing Lio be happy, he wasn’t sure what was funny. Or if Lio was laughing at _him._

“I… Just...Look,” Lio started but descended into another fit of giggles, “You brought a clicker to get me to stay with you!” 

Galo wanted to know what came next, yet he also didn’t want to know. The clicker made sense to him because then he didn’t have to interrupt himself to change a slide? It always worked? Would Lio think badly of him for this?

“You came prepared to get me to say yes, it’s one of the nicest things anyones ever done for me.. You made me feel like I was worth the effort.”

Oh. 

Galo was speechless, he hadn’t thought of it like that.

“So you want to stay with me?”

“‘Course I will. Lucia said something and well, I’m trying a thing where I let people help me when they have offered it. Just promise me one thing, you’d tell me if I was fucking up. Like if I broke a rule of yours or I’m annoying you. I don’t want to impose...”

Galo felt like he had watched someone kick a puppy and left it on the roadside in the rain. Lio’s soul burned so fiercely with the need to protect, how could a man with such fire and passion be so shy? Galo then remembered how he had been isolated. How he gave everything up for the Burnish to be safe, to make sure the world could begin again. 

_“It’s ok Galo, they won’t kill any Burnish if I’m there, fire or no fire. It’s time to pay the piper to get my people free. Take care of them for me.” Lio reached up to Galo and pressed their foreheads together, Lio looking into him like he was about to devour him. His eyes were heavy with so many emotions Galo couldn’t name them all._

_Lio stared at him, eyes darting to his mouth and searching Galo’s eyes, looking for something, then Lio was leaning in and Galo’s breath caught in his lungs as he froze up not knowing how to respond or what Lio wanted to do. Lio must have noticed Galo’s reaction as he pulled back to look at Galo fully. For the first time, Lio was soft around the edges and gentle, not full of anger and hatred._

_“Thank you Galo, thank you for your burning firefighter soul.” And with that Lio leaned away completely and walked onwards, only to be tackled and cuffed. Galo felt his hand reach for Lio’s to hold it, to make sure Lio wasn’t alone or mistreated. His hand fell back to his side with a soft thump and the pain from the new burn on his forearm started to ache in time with his heartbeat._

_It was the last time Galo saw him until Lio’s final trial…_

“You’re not, I live alone and have the most space. Aina is out ‘cos of, well, ‘you know who’ and little space, Lucia has her pet rats and not a lot of room. The rest just don’t have the space or necessary accessibility for you. Meis and Gueira are not subtle on the PDA or their affections and, well, I wanted to. 

“You took the fall after the Parnassus went down and yeah. I wanna help. I don’t want you to run out of my life again.” Galo was rambling and he honestly didn’t know how Lio fit into his life. Soul bonded sure, but he just felt like a life without Lio wasn’t as vibrant or full. He couldn’t name the feeling but Galo didn’t mind. There was a lot of stuff Galo couldn’t name or do well, but that was neither here nor there.

“You ok to move in tonight?”

“Lemme collect my things and try not to wind myself in the process, it will be nice to see a bit more. It seems I’ve been gone for too long,” and Lio smiled and so genuinely, like there was nothing more he wanted. So earnest and trusting even though Galo knew how hard trust was for him. 

Lio had problems and Galo knew he would never know the extent but he was there. For a shoulder to lean on or a cornerstone of friendship and support. 

Packing up the few items Lio had, plus the necessary medications he still had to take didn’t take long, and soon enough, Lio was at his back on the motorcycle ride home. It felt nice having Lio’s arms around him, a reminder that Lio was safe. He was alive. He was there. 

The single flight of stairs up was slow going, but Lio had only just been given the go ahead as his physio started in full. It was worth the look of pride when Lio got to the top. It was small and hard to see in the usually stoic face but… Galo smiled to himself. Lio deserved the small victories, especially after everything. 

After Lio and his Promare had been allowed to _burn_ , they promptly disappeared back to their star. Then Lio being incarcerated for as long as he did and did so willingly, knowing what may have happened. During the years when Lio was who knew where, alone and hurting, all Galo wanted was to see him safe and happy. And hopefully, Galo would be there with him to see it. 

It took longer than Galo wanted to admit to find his keys and let Lio in, the noise from the fumbling keys were the only sign of his nerves. His flat wasn’t big, just the one bedroom with a modest kitchenette and a living room, but there was space in between everything and Lio’s eyes were like saucers. 

The light fell into the room as zephyrs into the room and it felt like home. Before, it felt like a flat but having someone round, being able to show it off, the flat started to feel like a home. Something to be proud of and say, ‘look at what I made for myself!’

It wasn’t given to him by a murderous maniac nor was it a home he was moved to and from. He had used his own money from his wages, got the things _he_ wanted, specifically the blackout curtains that went from ceiling to floor and the heavy duvet. A mix of coarser fabrics on the sofa that was wide enough to sleep and the carpet that was soft yet firm. It was everything he needed to feel calm and grounded, especially when his temper could take hold. The coldness of the materials in contrast to his inner burning soul, it made him concentrate on something else. 

He chanced a look at Lio, who was looking around as if everything was brand new, as if his flat wasn’t just four walls and some shitty furniture, as if this was what home could be. 

Lio was unused to everything in the flat. Not that he wasn’t comfy, just that everything was too comfortable. Galo had insisted on the sofa while Lio had the bed, but everything was too soft, too cosy to fall asleep in. Lio had decided on some of the thinner duvets and a firm pillow but it wasn’t enough. A decade of sleeping on cold hard surfaces meant it was hard to adjust to this new reality, but the thing making it hard to sleep was also an indulgence. 

The cotton wasn’t breaking his skin and the pillow was at just the right position. He could turn over and only be met with more bed rather than a hundred other people. He could stretch his legs! He could lie and feel the world turn and not have to worry about his next meal! Or when the next attack would arrive, or when the next guard change was. Even if it seemed emptier, an expanse of sheets and feather duvet was better than the hundred people suffering. 

In the end, he got a couple of hours of restless sleep but it was the comfiest he had been and waking up didn't feel awful. It was lulling him back to unconsciousness and he almost submitted to it before his internal clock woke him up completely. The smell of sweet spices and gently toasting bread wafted his way.

He relished in the soft rugs as he got out and padded softly into the living area, the smells were tantalising and flavour was a luxury. After living on the run, in cells and the bare minimum to exist, it became a treat or something to squirrel away. He inhaled deeply and it felt like a dream too good to wake from, and it would all come crashing down if he opened his eyes to the real world. 

So Lio stood there, in an oversized jumper with the ends creating sweater paws and pajama shorts, taking in what life should have been like. What it could be…

“Lio! Good morning! You sleep ok?” Galo said cheerily - how was Galo a morning person?! He seemed to have boundless energy that refused to leave, bouncing from one thing to another while doing everything at once. It was pretty awe inspiring, how he retained the smallest details about a person and dedicated his everything into what Galo decided to do. Lio allowed himself a soft smile because all of Galo’s attention was focused on him. 

Lio sat down to eat the bowl of spiced porridge, the toast and jam, and a mug of chai, it was a breakfast full of flavours that danced through all of his senses. The simple act of eating breakfast like that was nice and good and warming. Galo was talking a million miles per hour, entertaining tangents and random thoughts, filling the silence whilst simultaneously inhaling food. Lio wasn’t expected to talk and both were more than content for Lio to listen and give the appropriate dramatic responses. 

It made Lio feel _human_ again. Not a Burnish or non Burnish human, just a being with feelings and cares and rights. Like he hadn’t experienced hell and back. It was the small things. 

Lio had never been in love. He had been too intent on surviving, saving his people and leading a revolution. He had fleeting crushes that left as quickly as they appeared. He knew enough to know he only liked men, especially the kind hearted and smart ones. With strong principles and easy to look at but silly and fun. He liked people like Galo. 

Oh. 

_Oh._

He liked Galo, at least as a friend, and it was the very start of a crush. Except, this crush had to be stamped out. They were friends! They couldn’t be a thing after all, not in a romantic way. Galo had never shown any interest in men and it wasn’t fair on either of them. Lio had only spent one night and he was already catching feelings. 

Feelings that had developed since the first fight and helped keep him sane when he was alone. That the thought of seeing Galo again in the dark cells and the bone deep cold made Lio resilient because Galo would be at the end of it. 

The idea of what Galo represented urging him to build a place for the Burnish to live and be cared for. The feelings of tenderness that came Galo not giving up on Lio and helped him burn the world. Missing the feeling of such attention when he was in the cold unrelenting desert. Everything kept leading him back to Galo and something inside burned with heat when Galo even spared him a look.

And it wasn't the soft heat from his porridge that was warming him from the inside out. Galo standing there with his hair mussed up smiling as he talked was so damn captivating, how could he not warm Lio from the inside? The worst part was that Lio was the sole recipient of Galo’s attention. It felt like the hole the Promare had left was being filled in a new way and bringing in a new source to burn with. 

Lio couldn’t help but smile and though laughing hurt his sides it was worth it. He had suffered enough. 

It was time to live.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also apologise for all my writing - i have been told its stiff and formal and detracts from the story. This is a hobby and I want to tell stories but I study STEM at uni and have been writing scientific and engineering reports for the last 7 years and thus it is harder for me to write prose structurally . I deeply apologise and regret that I dont seem to have gotten better since my first fic 3 years ago. So as uni continues and gets harder, I may not publish any writing due to my priorities being uni. This has always been a hobby and nothing serious, just stories I thought I might like the world to see. Hex xxxx

“How has the last couple of weeks been Galo?” Lukas asked as he made himself a tea, and handed Galo a cup as he sat.

“Good, Lio moved in. Just till he’s on his feet!” Why did he need to clarify that? “The flat doesnt feel so empty now. It’s nice.”

“Company is good, and other than that, any feelings of negativity?” Lukas inquired gently.

Galo stopped, trying to work out how to say what he wanted, but the words wouldn’t form when he tried to vocalise his emotions. Every time he started nothing came out. He was starting to believe he was smart! That what he said had value. That _he_ had value… 

Why couldn’t he say the simplest of things?

“Breathe Galo, In… two three, and out ...two three.” Thank whoever for Lukas, Galo thought and copied Lukas’ breaths a few times before trying again.

“Thanks… Just… I sometimes hear things around the station. The odd comment and like I struggled to concentrate on something and like? No matter how much I tried or wanted to I just didn’t? I _couldnt_ and then some one rearranged my stuff and like I was panicking. Over someone rearranging my food supplies. I couldn’t find the thing I wanted and it had moved and I couldn’t. I. Just. Aaagghhhhhhhh!” 

Galo was wringing his hands at the memory, the crawling sensations came back and they were hard to ignore. He wanted the soft but coarse things, he needed to release this tidal wave of sensory information and the feeling of _absolute wrongness._

“And then! Something was made wrong! It just, no, it had to be done a certain way and it wasn’t! It wasn’t right!” Somehow he was now wringing a little tangle toy rather than his hands. It had different textures and was oddly soothing, the way it twisted and changed how it felt. Huh. He kept twisting, creating loops and he was able to ground himself and listen once more. 

“Yeah, I understand. Galo? Did anyone test you for Autism or ADHD?” 

Galo felt stunned; he couldn’t have those? He wasn’t like the kids who showed the associated traits in the schools he attended. 

“No? Why would I?” Galo questioned, he genuinely couldn’t think why they would have. 

“Well, there’s a lot of things that are leading me to think you haven't been diagnosed. This doesn’t make you different or bad or messed up. It just means we have a name for some traits you share with other people and come up with good and successful mechanisms that work for _you._

“I want to test for them so we can get you the help if you need it, and so we can get you to move forwards in the best way, one that works for you and to help you understand why some things happen the way they do for you.” Lukas calmly explained, reassuring Galo, who felt like his world was turning upside down.

“Why do you think that? I don’t have temper tantrums nor do I have many issues socialising…” Well, _Galo_ thought so at least. He talked to his co workers in Station 3 ok, and he never had any issues with Lio...

“Well, interest in specialised subjects like the Matoi and liking other things with an intensity people don’t normally have? You sometimes go off on tangents and miss steps because those jumps in logic seem instinctual to you? Issues with maintaining focus or hyperfocusing along with the sensory issues, as well as your dependance on caffeine. You concentrate better and feel calmer after it, don’t you?” Lukas asked.

Galo nodded, tring to process everything. 

“Not forgetting you have routines and placements where things have to be. Big changes don’t cause you issues but small ones?” Lukas continued, and it felt like he finally had a connection between all the things he couldn’t put together about himself.

It felt like everything wrong with him was being explained. Given a reason for _why_ it was like that. That it wasn’t just him being stupid or an idiot or wrong. There was a _thing_ that he had adapted to without help, that he had navigated alone. 

“Galo, it’s ok. These aren’t bad things, and we can work together to help you adapt with better methods and make it work for you.” Lukas smiled warmly and Galo felt safe, that he wasn’t being judged. 

“Where do we start?” Galo asked.

The next hour went by with a lot of yelling and annoyance.

“What does it mean I am spontaneous! I make the time to be spontaneous?! DON’T THEY KNOW ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?!! I can’t just take time away on a whim! This is why you have holiday and days off’

“I find it easy to do blah blah blah…. Yeah. under certain circu- what…. Wait... Why is there no neutral? WHY THE FUCK ISNT THERE A NEUTRAL OPTION?!?!? _IT DEPENDS ON ENVIRONMENT AND PERSON THERE, YOU WANKER._

“Whoever designed this should have been fired because it was not made by someone with this _bs_.” Galo was fuming, that questionnaire was the biggest steaming turd he _ever_ had the misfortune to fill out.

At least his grievances with the questionnaire portions were making Lukas laugh. He could see the humour too but it made filling everything out a bitch, especially with the vague wording and black or white answering. But, he left the session a bit lighter than when he arrived, like something he had missed finally made sense. 

The sight of Lio nestled on the corner sofa met him as he opened the door. He had taken his holidays to look after Lio and it wasn’t as if he used them anyway, he’d rather look after Lio than do nothing and stress out because of it. He moved blonde hair out of Lio’s face and was given a small noise in return, and if Galo didn’t know any better, he would have said it would have been a purr. 

The flat was still immaculate and there were some clean dishes on the drying rack. Lio wasn’t meant to do much lifting, not with his broken ribs and recovering lungs, Lio wouldn’t get away with it this time. But he could let it slide, Lio was actually sleeping and he couldn’t be mad at Lio. 

An hour passed and with the sun at its highest, Lio started to stir once more. He looked more rested in this moment than he had in the entire time Galo had known him. To make the situation more awkward, Galo couldn’t tear his eyes away, the soft smile and the world wasn’t on Lio’s shoulders in this one minute. He wasn’t a fugitive or hated figure or a rebellion fighting for survival. Just a person waking up from a good nap. 

“You want some tea there?” Galo asked as he made his way to the kitchen and heard the murmur of affirmation. 

“Did your appointment go well?” 

“Yeah, learnt a few things and it explains a lot. It’s a lot to take in and I just.. I’m .. Its drained me a bit,” 

“Galo Thymos, when the tea has brewed and steeped we are watching that Matoi documentary you’ve been wanting to watch.”

“But won’t you be bored?”

“I piloted one with you! And you like them, and it’s ‘Make Galo Feel Good Day.’ You don’t want to argue with the heretic leader of Mad Burninsh now, do you? Don’t be fooled with these bruised ribs. I can still kick your ass,” teased Lio, playing up to his old threatening persona. Though the lack of malice was gone now the Burnish had been freed. He was also as threatening as a baby kitten, wrapped up in as many blankets as he was. It was familiar and Galo felt safe. 

Maybe one day he could tell Lio….

The bond they had was special though, them piloting the Deus Ex Machina had connected them but it only strengthened something that was already there. The more Galo learnt about the Burnish, the more he felt like Lio and himself became friends. 

Friends, that's all they were. They werent anything else, Galo wasn’t gay. He never felt attracted to guys, so he was straight. Right?

Once he had sat back down he couldn’t help but notice, in all their interactions, Lio hadn’t once called Galo stupid nor patronised his interests. The one time he had after the Parnassus was teasing and friendly, a change from his own self decipretating words. Lio was willing to indulge his interests and though he was sleepy throughout and perhaps not fully paying attention, it was nice. 

Warmth spread through Galo as he smiled and stole some of the blankets Lio had cocooned himself in. Galo felt calmer than he ever had, he didn't have to worry about Foresight and having to please him. Nor did Galo feel like there was something inherently wrong with him, just something that hadn't been diagnosed. 

There was something so terribly domestic, it was like his flat felt less empty despite the effort to fill it. Lio’s teddy that he was gifted was sitting on one of the chairs, a new bow around its neck and ready to go home. There were some clothes on the floor that weren’t his and the small amount of extra clutter just made his flat feel more like a home. 

Maybe it was the hours he spent down at the station on call or the fact he never really had anywhere to call home, but Galo felt he could get used to this. Lio’s body next to his and just existing in some sort of peace, it felt as natural as breathing and the soft thump on his shoulder told Galo that Lio had fallen asleep. 

He gently picked up Lio’s sleeping form and tucked him in under the duvet covers, Lio looked so peaceful and compared to the first night a hell of a lot better. There was a fullness to his face and the light, mint green hair was showing its blond roots and full of volume and life. It brought a smile to Galo’s face, knowing his friend was safe and well once more. Galo knew he’d have to rouse Lio later but no one was around to see him look softly at Lio, so no one could judge him for it. 

Something happened over the next few days, a calmness and contentment fell over them as they adjusted to living with each other. Galo found that the few touches Lio gave him as he scooted past didn't make his skin crawl nor did Galo feel like his space was being invaded. He even wanted to offer touch and be touched in return! It was an improvement on where he had been a year ago and he felt that soon, everything he needed would be in place and he would be happy again.

Lio was opening himself up to Galo, allowing himself to breathe and try to relax while not in physio. He had even got used to sleeping on something soft again! It was a step Galo had been proud of, Lio deserved a bed at a bare minimum. 

Along with Lio, Gueira and Meis became fixtures in Galo’s life, coming round when Galo had to do stuff, like the shopping or the occasional call in for a big fire. It wasn’t uncommon to come back late at night from such fires to see all three of them cat piled on each other, careful not to put too much strain on Lio.

Some nights, there a game he didn’t own was strewn across the table, or the menu screen of a film blared over the living room. In those nights, Galo slept on the floor, not wishing to sleep in Lio’s bed. 

When had _his own bed_ become _Lio’s_? 

Clutter had started to fill the flat the longer Lio was there, especially the more mobile he got. It started with short walks after physio sessions, slow and careful to build back stamina. The odd venture into shops to get things. Sometimes it was food to add variety to their meals as Lio started to help cook. Other times it was second hand clothes and then odd little things. 

A little ornament of a set of ducklings having a bath that found its way onto one of the book shelves started it all. Then some art of puffins Lio had fallen in love with, and soon there was some sort of puffin thing everywhere. 

There were strands of blondish hair all over the floor that stood out against the carpet and clogged the vacuum despite it being a joint effort of blue and green hair. And Lio had casually taken to styling his hair to keep it out of his face when at home. Tying it back into a pony or braiding it back into a dutch braid easily. 

When questioned, Lio only said it was something Meis, Gueira and himself did in the down time. Galo rarely liked people messing with his hair, they always pulled or used feather light touches that freaked him out. Lio always asked first and accepted his no’s, made sure he wasn’t too soft or too hard when styling. 

Galo appreciated the small things when it came to Lio and boundaries, always checking and always accepting a negative response well and moving on. Galo’s heart fluttered at the memories of times when it was just him and Lio, doing each other's hair, or attempting to in Galo’s case. The braid he had managed had bits of hair sticking up everywhere and it was messy, but Lio had said he loved it all the same. 

And Galo trusted him, believed him so fully. It was hard not to, Lio Fotia had ensnared him with his friendship and for the first time, there were no expectations of him or trying to live up to impossible standards. He was finding out who he was beyond fire fighting and Foresight, and a lot of it seemed to revolve around Lio. 

Soon he would be back at work and Lio would find somewhere to work as well, then they would just be normal friends. Struggling to find times that worked to meet up and quick messages. 

But that would mean Lio leaving him, all the little things that made his flat feel lived in and homey. Could Galo even survive back in a basic and bare place that never felt like his? 

_Oh._

He was becoming almost dependent wasn’t he? Latching on to Lio because of some imagined soul bond. Even a diagnosis wouldn’t excuse it, only explain it. Galo didn't want to lose Lio but Lio had his own life and Galo had to let go. To give Lio life rather than be kept next to someone who would drag him down.

It was the right thing to do. They were friends and nothing more. 

They couldn't be more…


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks since Lio’s arrival into their flat had been long and borderline painful for him. Not because of Galo’s doing, just that his physio sessions and trips to his therapist left him drained. After everything he had endured, Lio found he got tired easily and was more than willing to fall into the nest of blankets on the sofa. He knew he had to rest and build his stamina and strength back up again, but he didn't have to like it. 

He could tell he was making progress. He was able to pick things up more easily and was going for longer each day. The more he was able to talk to his therapist the more he felt able to face everything, namely his own issues and the world beyond Galo’s flat. 

It started in the small things, working out what he needed in his life now when he no longer needed to save everyone.

Then how to healthily channel this energy to protect, Lio’s needs and impulses to create something good in the world. Hours upon hours of turning the anger and pain into something better. The sessions were long and intense but they were producing something. 

Lio had found that his protective and nurturing nature had been left unfulfilled since the Parnassus crashing. It had been neglected under the trauma that the Freeze Force cells and the Parnassus did to him. So, his therapist suggested something Lio would never have thought of; caring for animals or plants. Something that wouldn't judge him or hurt him. 

It started with a cactus in the window of the kitchen, but one plant wasn’t going to be enough. He wanted more, he wanted the fulfillment and the feeling of a job well done. It was pure luck that Lio saw that one of the Burnish he had helped years ago had opened a plant nursery, and applied for a position to go on to study horticulture. 

His therapist was encouraging and saw it as a good way to channel energy into a peaceful situation that wasn't likely to trigger any issues. This job was something Lio could throw himself into and not develop self destructive habits. By having something rely on him, that needed him to grow and live. Lio felt like something new, something so good, was coming his way.

Life seemed to be on the up, except for one small thing.

Lio was crushing hard on his flat mate. The small touches that Galo allowed, that Lio was helping Galo with his touch starvation and it helped Lio ground himself when the world got a bit too big to bear. He was the soft voice of encouragement when Lio opened up occasionally, the only person outside of his therapist - who specialised with Burnish issues - and the other Burnish who were almost torn apart in the engine pods. 

To top it all off, Galo bought stuff Lio loved and treasured, just because Lio would like it and it touched Lio’s heart. It was effortlessly selfless and it always brought a smile because Galo thought of _him._ Lio never wanted to push Galo beyond his boundaries or force him to do something that wasn’t wanted, so when Galo started to refuse more and distance himself, it sent a clear message. 

Lio started to cook alone and he watched from afar. He had been so so stupid, Galo would never reciprocate his feelings. Too full of life and potential to be with someone like him, but it didn’t stop him from falling that little bit deeper with every small action. 

It didn’t help that Galo took the time to talk to kids who recognised him. Especially when Lio learned about the Burnish community centre they had helped to build, especially with cooking and fire safety, basic first aid and access to resources that they had been denied. Not to mention when Galo started to talk at high speeds when he got into a groove or specific interest. The sight that was Galo tipping his head back to allow Lio access to braid his hair down from its usual style. The soft smiles and open heart...

Further and further Lio fell; he wanted to give Galo everything he wanted. Lio wanted to be the one Galo leaned on the way Lio had leaned on him, in whatever capacity he could! Lio had even found a job to help pay for everything! He wanted to treat Galo the way Lio himself had been treated by Galo. He had even found a bromeliad that looked like a fire flame he wanted to surprise Galo with! 

It wasn't as if Galo wasn't spending time with him. They still talked, but it felt off, stilted. Especially when they tried to talk about anything important. 

“Galo?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve found a job down at the nurseries, I can start to help you pay for stuff and maybe go a bit further? I mean buses are a thing...Maybe you wanna go back to the lake?”

“Sure, why not.” The lack of enthusiasm killed Lio on in the inside. What did he do wrong?

His first full day on the job was a few days after that conversation, and Galo had taken to being out of the flat whenever possible. In response, Lio made himself scarce. His ribs still ached and sometimes his head felt funny but his employers were more than accommodating. 

He started with watering the greenhouses with the mister and hose and listened intently on horticulture lessons they gave him. His therapist had said that he needed to channel his instincts in a healthy way, and plants weren’t going to try to kill him on sight. It was also calming. He could focus on the tasks and he could see the plants’ growth and found he enjoyed it. He was actually doing something to help life grow and the dirt on his hands felt good and honest. 

The owner of the nursery was a fairly young lady called Hailey, and she took him under her wing. Lio found he really loved the little carnivorous plants a lot and the terrariums. He found that caring for life filled the part of him that longed to protect, especially since the Burnish were safe now. They had representation and were able to live, but the need to care, protect and nurture remained. 

The first month passed easily, general upkeep and basic care as he rebuilt his strength and stamina. Soon enough he could carry water and plants without being winded and his first pay came through. It wasn’t much, but it was his. 

“Hey Hailey, can I take this bromeliad?” he asked, indicating one of the flaming swords. She nodded and wished him a good weekend as they transposed the bromeliad into a travel pot.

He wanted to give Galo something. They still hung out even if it felt like Galo was holding back and it hurt Lio so much to see it. Never would he ask Galo to be someone he wasn't but he wanted to make amends and he hoped a peace offering would help. 

Not to mention it felt nice to give something back to Galo after all he had done, Lio wanted to see Galo’s reaction. Lio knew by now his crush was hopeless but he nurtured it all the same. Galo was first and foremost his friend, and he wanted one of the few friends he had back in his life.

Getting home had been a herculean effort, the bromeliad he had chosen wasn’t exactly small and was very, very pointy. The other people on the bus were trying to avoid the plant which at least gave him a seat to himself, and then decided that the minute he got home, he was gonna address this problem. 

Galo was holding him at arms length and it seemed he was only talking to his therapist about anything serious. Did he know that Lio was there and willing to help? To be a shoulder to lean on and be asked to help him? Galo had been there for Lio time and time again, had saved him and brought him back in too many ways to not return the favour. 

When Lio got home, the flat was bathed in the evening light and empty, which was perfect for Lio’s plans. He placed Flamey the bromeliad where Galo couldn’t miss it and started to make dinner for the two of them. Chopping up the vegetables and using the fatty cuts of the meat meant he could dump it into a crockpot with some stock and dinner would be done. It was lazy and meant Lio could wait with little worry about burning the food. However, it was enough time to allow him to stew in his worry. 

One hour passed, and then another, then a couple more. It wasn’t unusual but he knew there were no fires, there weren’t any emergencies as his phone had been inundated with messages in the group chat Meis and Gueira added him into. Was Galo going that far to avoid him?

Eventually the door opened quietly and once Galo saw that Lio was awake and clearly waiting for him, judging by the way Lio’s eyes narrowed when he saw Galo. Galo in comparison was like a deer in headlights. Before Galo could escape, Lio made it clear that this was something he couldn’t run from lest he face Lio’s wrath. There was a reason he had been leader of Mad Burnish with no questions asked, and everyone would know just from the look he was sending Galo’s way. 

“We are having dinner and we are talking. Don’t you _dare_ think of moving back through that door or I _will_ lift something extremely heavy and you see if I don’t.” Lio threatened, knowing that Galo would fret over his well being.

Galo’s gazed flicked between the door and a glaring Lio. It was clear that the leader of Mad Burnish had returned somewhat and Galo would do well to have remembered it. 

“Try it and I’ll try to deadlift the sofa.” Lio was not having any fight or flight bullshit, especially when some one he cared so deeply about was in pain.   
And Galo looked to be in pain, spending time away from his house, exhausted with bruises under his eyes and drained. Like Hell Galo was getting through another night in this state. Defeated, Galo sat on the sofa while Lio served the stew and handed over a bowl with a few slices of bread to dip into the juices. 

“Galo, have you been avoiding me?” Lio said, straight to the point and no room for misinterpretation. Lio had to know where he stood, if it was something he could fix in himself. He had so few friends and none of them were like Galo.

Galo’s spoon dropped into the bow splattering juices all over the table as he started to stammer, and maybe a tactful tone may have been better. Lio corrected himself, _should_ have been used as Galo looked defeated and out of it. 

“Sorry Galo, I didn’t mean to be so blunt, I’m worried. Did I do something wrong? If I did please tell me so I wont do it again, I care about you.” Lio said, trying to back peddle and reduce the damage he inflicted.

Biggest secret in the universe, Lio Fotia was a man who cared so fiercely and unashamedly despite the cool blasé exterior he showed to the world. 

“It’s not you, I’m too dependent on you. I’m monopolising your time and you deserve time away from me…” Galo replied, his voice so quiet and hurt and Lio wanted   
to hug the man but knew it wasn’t a boundary he had been allowed to cross. So he did the next best thing that Lio could do. 

“Galo, I have Meis and Gueira, now that I’m mobile I have my job and the friends I’m making there. We are flatmates and we’re gonna spend time together and I want to do that! There’s no one I’d rather share a flat with! And we aren’t unhealthily dependent, we can live away from each other and it's not bad we prefer each other's company. 

“You can ask for my time, I even got you Flamey, the flaming sword bromeliad to match your burning soul,” it drew a weak chuckle from Galo which relieved Lio to no end, “You're my friend, I don't get all leader-y for something or someone I don’t care about.”

There was a moment, as Galo turned his face to Lio’s, where Lio thought for a second that Galo would close the gap. Feel warm lips on his and the ever present smell of woodfire smoke and earth filling his senses. A flicker of a moment where Lio thought he would know what it would be liked to be loved by one Galo Thymos. 

“Are we good?” Galo asked meekley, barely looking at Lio after Galo’s gaze flit back to his new plant. 

“Of course we are, there wasn’t anything wrong in the first place,” Lio replied gently but the ghost of what could be lingered as they relaxed into their sofa to watch a movie. Lio wanted more! He ached and craved for Galo, no… he shouldn’t think of Galo like that! Galo was a _friend_ and going through so much already. He didn’t need Lio’s issues on top of it all. 

“Lio!!!” Galo yelled excitedly, shoving his phone in Lio’s face, “New bromeliad growths are called pups! That’s so adorable! They’re like baby spikes. I wonder if Flamey will do that. Lio? Will Flamey spawn Flamey Jr’s?”

Galo’s excitement was contagious and a surge of fondness became present in Lio. He smiled along and basked in Galo’s excitement as he looked into bromeliad care. 

The enthusiasm was contagious and soon enough, Lio was bringing up his favourite plants in the nursery while Galo gave his opinions on every single one. 

The hours passed and Lio didnt realise that Galo’s arm had snaked around his waist and had at some point pulled him close. The realisation set his skin alight at every point of contact as he tried to focus on anything but that. But what did it mean? Did Galo like him? Was it just a thing Galo did despite not liking contact?

No amount of self reflection would provide an answer and if anything, the fondness grew a bit more with every minute. Galo felt comfortable enough to allow him this close. Lio had seen Galo touch others but not this much and it made Lio feel special, that Galo trusted him enough to do this. 

Lio didn’t snuggle in like his mind wanted him too, nor did he try to escape. He stayed where he was, content with what Galo gave him, not wanting to break the fragile trust built in the last few hours. 

I wonder if he knows he’s even doing it, Lio thought, or if it’s just something he does with people he likes or just close friends. He truly wished it wasn’t the latter. It would hurt yes, but when all was said and done, Galo’s friendship was everything to Lio. 

Galo, who had waited three years for him, who opened his home and was loud and kind and funny. Galo who had saved him three years ago and helped him, who Lio bonded with so closely it was impossible to tell where fierce promare ended and bright burning soul began….


	9. Chapter 9

Galo was internally freaking out. Lio was so close. He had allowed touch and it felt _good._ The small point of contact didn’t make his flesh crawl nor did Lio push more more or question it. 

Lio was good to him like that. He had really lucked out in the soul bond department, not a lot of friends would be as accommodating as Lio was, even if it was in a platonic sense. Galo felt intrinsically connected to Lio in one way or another. 

It had taken to what he now knew to be a sensory overload for people at Station 3 to understand that he couldn’t take a lot of physical touch. It also explained why he hated shirts so much; they were itchy and awful and weird against his skin, and once he was able to explain that, everyone had stopped any malicious comments. 

Even having a term to describe all this was a help. It meant he wasn’t making a fuss over nothing, that he wasnt stupid. 

To boot, Lio was so good. As much as Lio tried to deny it, Lio was so innately _good_ that the conversation they just had didn’t feel like Galo was being shamed, nor did it leave room for misunderstandings and condescension. Galo was so thankful to have a friend like Lio. 

He gently hooked the arm that was not around Lio’s waist, under his knees and carried him over to the bed. Lio was still light, but was significantly heavier and healthier than the day Lio had turned up on their doorstep. 

Getting through the door proved to be a small challenge but once Galo lay Lio on the bed, he couldn’t help but stare at the form of Lio. He looked serene while blonde and faded green framed his face and Galo smiled. Through everything they had faced, they had come out the otherside. Worse for wear perhaps, but alive.  
Maybe they should have a spa day to celebrate…

Galo settled back into the couch and pulled the single duvet over him and he scrolled through articles on bromeliad care. It was a kind gesture Lio really didn’t need to do. The apartment was just as much Lio’s at this point, despite it only having one bedroom. True, they had been giving each other small things. Like the small ornament that caught Galo’s eye in a charity shop, or the fluffiest jumper Lio could find but then couldn’t find, only for _Galo_ to find it on sale the next day. 

It was small things, not this! Not an entire plant! Plants were living things that needed care and attention and? Galo secretly loved them. He would take photos of plants he saw when he was out near the frozen lake. He helped tired bees onto the nearest lavender bush and run his hands over the stems as the aroma filled his senses. They made him feel more at peace with the world. 

As much as he would love to have a pet, his work schedule was hell and Lio found the next best thing. Galo picked up Flamey and placed him in a nice spot that would get some sun and made a shopping list for the next day, including a mister for his new plant child. 

It was by chance Galo saw them in the window shop. They twinkled as he walked by and he had to get them. For reasons. They were worth the price he paid and walked home with his new plant mister and present in hand. 

It was just too bad he forgot the milk again. 

Galo was sitting reading a webcomic when Lio fell onto the chair he had claimed as his own. He then drew in a deep breath and yelled into the nearest pillow. Galo had learnt that it usually meant there had been at least three people who made his day hell. Galo knelt and helped take off the heavy duty boots Lio favoured in the nurseries, taking care to not pull on the limbs that were no doubt in need of some TLC. 

“Galo, why do people think that I can magically make a plant that takes a _hundred_ years to mature and be fully grown. Why?!” Lio groaned, exasperated and one hundred percent done. He was becoming one with the armchair apparently and nothing would persuade him otherwise. But Galo knew better and coaxed him to at least look to Galo. 

“Karens are shitty. And Becky’s. You would think saving them from a burning building would be enough but nooooo. They want to speak to the manager because you didn’t get their precious coffee maker!” Galo laughed, gesturing wildly, “Like lady, if your priority is a coffee maker and not, you know, the _children_ I just got out? You got _issues._ ”

“She was more worried about her coffee maker than kids? Seriously?! If I ever decided to have a kid in some way, they would know that they were loved so utterly. Not like that could happen with my reputation but they would be so loved….” A glassy look came over Lio’s face and silence fell as they both knew that kind of love wasn’t in their lives and it still lay heavy on them. 

After a while Galo moved to get the little box in his coat pocket and turned to find Lio looking curiously over at him. Lio was a literal cat and it made Galo smile fondly. He felt warm inside and pride at how far Lio had come. There was still a long way to go but, Galo was proud nevertheless. 

“What do you have there? It’s not a kitten you found is it?” Lio asked suspiciously, like that was a thing Galo would do. Well, it totally was, he swore to protect all life after all!

“I um.. I saw something and thought of you,” he said as he passed over the small velvet box like it was a bomb ready to detonate at the slightest touch. Puzzled by the box Lio took it and opened it. 

His face went slack in surprise as he saw the teal and lilac black opals in 18 karat gold earrings. Lio had pierced his ears for every year he had gone and the studs in the upper set were just steel balls. Galo had seen these and thought that it was a reminder of the promare. He wanted Lio to feel a little bit of them even if they were back in his own world. 

“Galo…” Lio whispered in awe and carefully took them out of the box one by one and changed the upper set out. The black triangles went well with the opals and Galo felt his heart miss a beat. 

His friend liked his gift! Lio liked them! It was all Galo needed to know to be happy. 

The stones in the earrings danced like his flames used to, shifting in the light. It warmed his heart to see them and that it was Galo. Galo, who just gave him something so thoughtful, simply because he wanted to see Lio happy and for no other reason but that. 

“Galo…” he whispered. Surging forwards, he embraced Galo in a tight hug, and if Galo felt a tears on his neck then he didn’t say anything. Just enclosing him in his arms and truth be told, Lio never felt more at home. 

The strife from the day melted as time went on in that tiny bubble of Lio and Galo. 

“Thank you for bringing them back to me,” Lio said in a hushed tone. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Galo replied. “Not when we still have to do your hair! Then maybe you can do mine!” Galo produced two bozes of dyes, one of the discontinued dye he had once used and a royal blue. Lio was slightly concerned at the glint in Galo’s eyes and he picked Lio up in a fireman’s lift and made his way to the bathroom. 

Lio could feel all the muscles under the soft cotton shirt, and no one could see the soft smile and he was gingerly placed on the edge of the bath. Lio picked up the dye box when Galo went to get a tee for lio, in holographic letters read the word permanent. Lio was never attached to his natural blond hair. It made him feel younger than he was and almost looked down on. Like he was a dumb twink.

He had always been treated as less than, and at least in dying his hair, he took something back. He also liked the mint green hue, especially when the sun hit it just right, so sue him.

Galo soon came back and Lio pulled it on while Galo started to run the shower to bring the water up to temperature.

“Hey, sit on the floor and tip your head back… And don’t forget to close your eyes!!” Galo murmured. Lio complied easily and the water was the perfect temperature. Not even starting on Galo’s hand running through his hair making sure it was wet, massaging Lio’s scalp and creating a lather with the shampoo Lio favoured. It was lulling him to sleep.

Lio was slipping into dangerous territory here. Lio loved that he was treated with respect and the full hearted care that Galo had shown him. Lio cracked open his eyes when Galo was tending to his ends. 

By the flames he would die from the sight he got. The chiseled jaw and expression of contentment would burn him from the inside. To top it off, Galo looked at his face, then had the audacity to smile! Lio felt all the blood rush to his face and barely heard what Galo was saying. 

He felt an arm on his and was unceremoniously yanked up which instantly dispelled any thoughts as Lio sent Galo a disapproving look. 

“What was that for?” yelled Lio while he turned on the tap behind him.

“You didn’t answer me!! I need to not bend over you to get your hair!” Splash. “What was-” Splash. “ Lio!” Splash. “LIO YOU SHIT GET BACK HERE!!” Galo yelled as Lio started to sprinkle water in his face, and as soon as Galo made a move ran into the living room. Far away as possible. 

It wasn’t a surprise when Galo was hot on his heels and jumped onto their sofa, a feat Lio was openly gawking at. However, that moment was all Galo needed to pin Lio to the cushions, his hands on Lio’s wrists, so _close_ and breathing hard. 

Would Galo kiss him? Lio was gazing into Galos eyes and took a chance. He allowed his eyes to close and leaned up while desperately wishing he wouldn’t pop a boner. He hated that being pinned like this was a turn on, that it felt so right. 

Then the weight on him lifted and fingertips brushed the insides of his wrists, sending shivers all over him. 

“Come on, let’s get those luscious locks done, then you can help with mine!” Galo said cheerfully like nothing happened. Opening his eyes slowly, he could see no hint of embarrassment nor that anything was wrong. Like _nothing_ had even happened. 

Oh no. 

He had fallen for a straight guy, or at least, a guy who only saw him as a friend. 

After leading Lio back, Galo had him straddling the loo to fully colour his hair and proudly declared it was finished. And like the eager puppy he was, begged Lio to help him redo his roots. 

“It takes a lot to look this awesome Lio! We’re gonna look awesome together, aren’t we?” Galo prodded and Lio gave in.

Despite the amount of product Galo used, his hair was incredibly and impeccably soft. It felt like the finest silk whilst being thick and would make anyone worth their hair follicles jealous to the core. Oh, how Lio wished and yearned to do this for him regularly.

Galo was practically putty in his hands as he washed the uneven strands, and Lio could have sworn that Galo had hummed in contentment. It was a lot of trust Galo had placed on him. To be careful with him, to not overstep any boundaries with where Lio touched, to not take advantage.

Lio wished he could kiss Galo’s temple once he had finished with the dye and placed the shitty stained shower cap that Galo favoured. Galo trusted him so much, and no matter what Lio’s feelings were, he would be there for Galo. Whether it was helping in the kitchen or dying his roots or helping him woo someone, Lio would be there in the sidelines loving him from afar. 

Because Lio did love Galo, at the very least he harboured the seeds of love. Lio would go to the ends of the earth, endure the worst pain imaginable, even get out of Galo’s life if it meant he would be happy. 

After having another small water fight, in which Lio most definitely won and didn’t cheat in, unlike other people claimed _Galo_ , they collapsed on the sofa, leaning on each other as they watched some random movie they had found. Lio’s last conscious thoughts were just how serene Galo looked when he was sleepy, without the worries of the world on his shoulders. He had reached up to brush damp blue hair away and found a solid expanse of muscle to sleep on. Lio didn’t think he had found _anything_ as comfy as this in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very welcome and i hope you guys liked this!


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